Dawn of Hope
by Princess of Ash and Snow
Summary: In the midst of a fierce war of all clans, Stormflame falls in love with a ShadowClan warrior, and is soon pregnant. Thankfully, RiverClan shows mercy, and a kit is born. But Stormflame's relief to still be welcome in her home won't last, and Skykit has an unusual life to lead... "The flaming tempest will bring the dawn of hope, so embrace this pool of sky reflected blue."
1. Prologue and allegiences

**Hi! Welcome to my new story! I am also writing a selection fanfic right now, so this will be my second priority, but I'll try to update often!**

Prologue

The young medicine cat watched uneasily from the corner of the den as Rainstar spoke with Stormflame.

"Stormflame, we are at war," the gray tom meowed in a tired voice. "Even in normal circumstances, relationships beyond individual clans are against the code, and now it is much worse."

Stormflame bristled. "I don't think that's fair. I shouldn't have to love someone in my own clan, and besides, this war is pointless, and I'm tired of it."

"Good!" Rainstar snapped. "If you don't want to be here, leave! As leader of RiverClan, I am exiling you."

Both the pale golden she-cat in the corner and Stormflame gasped. Darkness washed over the medicine cat's eyes, and when she could see again, she was staring at an entrancing pale blue pool. "The flaming tempest will bring the dawn of hope, so embrace this pool of sky reflected blue," she chanted involuntarily. Then the world was dark again, and she blinked. When she opened her eyes, she was back in Rainstar's den.

Rainstar and Stormflame gaped at her, shock taking over their expressions. Vixendust shook her head, gasping for breath. "You can't exile her! She's going to save us!"

Rainstar scowled. "I heard no such thing. 'Pool of sky reflected blue'? That doesn't sound like Stormflame to me."

"Please," Vixendust mewed. "I promise you, we need her. Don't you trust my visions?"

Rainstar inhaled sharply. "She can stay for now," he decided. "If we realize she is not involved in this vision, she will be exiled anyway. You may go, Stormflame, but don't tell any cat about this."

"Yes, Rainstar," Stormflame murmured, dipping her head before she padded quietly out of the den, tail wrapped around her distended belly.

* * *

 **I know that was really short! I promise the real chapters will be way longer, I'm going to go for about 3,000 words per chapter!**

* * *

 **Allegiences**

RiverClan

Leader: Rainstar—pale gray tom with blue eyes

Deputy: Flintheart—white tom with a heart shaped patch of black fur on his chest

Medicine Cat: Vixendust—pale golden she-cat; semi-long hair and almond shaped green eyes

 **Warriors**

Lilyclaw—small white she-cat with a long tail and beautiful blue eyes; Stormflame's mother

Stoatfern—dark gray tabby tom

 _Apprentice: Leafpaw_

Doveflight—pale gray she-cat

 _Apprentice: Aspenpaw_

Emberbranch—dark brown tabby tom

Amberpelt—striking orange tabby she-cat

Kestrelsky—black tom with three white paws, a white tail tip, and a white chest

 _Apprentice: Nightpaw_

Sootspring—gray tom with paler stripes on lower legs and tail

Russetdapple—dark red she-cat with blue-gray eyes; Stormflame's sister

Mistspeck—tiny gray tabby she-cat

 **Apprentices**

Aspenpaw—pale brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Leafpaw—pale brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Nightpaw—pure black tom

 **Queens**

Stormflame—dark ginger she-cat with large striking blue-gray eyes, mother of Ashstep's kit; Skykit-very pale gray she-kit with fluffy fur and striking light blue eyes

Moonmist—dark gray she-cat, mother of Sootspring's kits; Honeykit—pale orange tabby she-kit, three moons old; Pinekit—gray tabby tom kit, three moons old

 **Elders**

Swallowstripe—very old gray tabby she-cat with bad eyes

 **OC clans (ThunderClan, WindClan, ShadowClan)**

Leader:

Deputy:

Medicine cat:

 **Warriors**

(8-12)

 **Apprentices**

(1-5)

 **Queens**

(1-3, if they have born kits please state; if kits have not yet been born you may create them anyway, but it's not required. You may also say who you want the father to be, if you create that character, otherwise I will choose a father)

 **Elders**

(1-3)

* * *

 **OC form**

 **Clan: (RiverClan is not available)**

 **Name: (must be a normal name. I won't accept the cat if it has a name that isn't something possible. Use a warrior cat name generator if you need help coming up with a name.)**

 **Appearance: (fur color, eye color, any markings)**

 **Rank:**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! Thanks so much to the people who have already submitted OC's and to my reviewers! I have plenty more OC openings, so go back to the prologue and Allegiences if you want to look at it! This chapter is only about 1400 words, but I plan on my chapters getting steadily longer until they reach over 3000. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The little kit squealed in worry as the warm body beside her shifted away. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she was not yet named, but already she felt loved. The cat shifted closer to her again, and she murmured happily, resting her head against soft fur.

"Oh, my beautiful baby," purred the voice who the kit would later learn was her mother. "You're so perfect. I just wish your father could be here to meet you." Her voice cracked on the last few words, but the gray kitten just snuggled against her mother's belly, not understanding.

The kit giggled and murmured some kind of gibberish words as she started to suckle and let warm milk dribble out of her mouth and down her chin. "Gagaga," she cooed.

Stormflame giggled. "Oh, my pretty kitten, what's your name?" she murmured thoughtfully. The kitten heard sounds coming from outside the nest, a place she hadn't gotten to explore yet, and rolled over, still cooing.

"Stormflame, have you named it yet?" demanded a rough, unfamiliar voice. Something touched her, and she rolled away from it, whimpering softly. It was furry, but the fur was short and coarse.

"No, Rainstar," Stormflame replied. "I will take however much time I want, and it's not your issue. Don't touch my daughter!"

"Rainstar!" a much gentler voice called. "Leave them in peace and go lead your clan. Perhaps you should announce to them that we have a new clan member. Stormflame, should I let Moonmist and her kits come back?"

"Of course, Vixendust," the kit's mother purred. "I'm sure Honeykit and Pinekit will be excited to meet their new playmate."

"Mmmm?" the kitten mumbled, not understanding the words these big cats used.

"Shhh, baby, sleep," her mother purred, licking the top of her head. The kitten giggled, and snuggling into her mother's warm fur once again, fell fast asleep.

…

"Why is she so boring?" a small but irritated voice muttered as the kitten came back to consciousness.

"Hush, Pinekit, she's very young," a voice scolded him.

"Erble grrgle," the kit purred, stretching out her short legs.

"Well, hello, my sweet kitten," her mother mewed, nuzzling her cheek. "Do you think today might be the day when you open your eyes?"

"Yeah!" the same small voice from before said. "I bet I opened my eyes right when I was born."

"No, Pinekit, you didn't," said a soothing voice, the one who had scolded Pinekit. "She's only a day old, let's be patient now. Why don't you go play with your sister?"

"I don't want to play with Honeykit! I like this one better!"

"Go outside, Pinekit," the she-cat meowed. "Play with your sister and don't bother Stormflame."

"Fine!" Pinekit muttered.

The little kitten, starting to feel hungry, nuzzled her mother, looking for milk. A soft head nudged her towards it, and she started drinking, kneading her paws in satisfaction. When she was done, she stared around, although all she could see was darkness. _I want to see the world!_ She thought, trying to squint her eyes open.

Suddenly light flooded in, and she whimpered and closed them again. "Moonmist! She opened her eyes!" Stormflame meowed excitedly.

"Really? What color are they?" Moonmist asked. She was the cat from before, talking to Pinekit.

"Light blue," Stormflame breathed. "She closed them, but, oh they were so beautiful. I think her name should be Skykit."

Skykit mumbled agreeably and attempted to open her eyes again. The brightness still hurt them, but not so much as before. "Gaga, erble grrble," she giggled, looking around. The cat beside her was a dark ginger she-cat. Her eyes were bright and happy, and Skykit knew she was mother. "Mama!" she mumbled, nudging the cat's big paws.

"Skykit! You know my name!" her mother laughed, leaning down to nuzzle her.

…

In the next half moon, Skykit grew quickly. She still stumbled around the nursery on her short, fluffy legs, but she learned to talk, and stayed awake for longer periods of time.

"Mama, why don't I have a father?" she asked one day, as Sootspring, the father of Pinekit and Honeykit trotted out of the nursery to watch his kits play outside.

"Oh, Skykit," Stormflame purred, a hint of sadness in her tone. "Of course you have a father. You will meet him one day, I promise."

"Today?" Skykit suggested, tilting her head. "Can I go out of the nursery? Is he there?"

"No, baby," her mother mewed, nuzzling her head. "You can go outside when you're bigger. How about you practice your running in here for me?"

"Fine," Skykit muttered. She climbed out of the nest and stood on her little legs. They wobbled a little, and then she took a step. Soon, she was running around the nursery, teetering wildly on her paws. One paw in front of the other, and then her front paws crashed together. She skidded to a halt, face planting on the mossy floor. "Mama!" she whimpered. Stormflame ran over and picked the kitten up off the ground, then placed her back in the nest.

"I hurt," Skykit whimpered, rubbing her face with a paw.

"I know baby, but you'll be okay," Stormflame meowed, gently grabbing the paw in her mouth and moving it away from Skykit's face.

"Good morning, Stormflame! Good morning, Skykit!" greeted a familiar voice. Skykit looked up, distracted from her pain, and saw a familiar pale golden cat.

"Vi-en-endus!" she mumbled, stuttering over the medicine cat's long name.

"Hi, Skykit," Vixendust purred, trotting over and licking her head. "How are you today?"

"I got to practice my running!" Skykit replied proudly. "And then I fell, but I did good, I promise!"  
"I'm sure you did very well," Vixendust chuckled. "Stormflame, I brought you for borage, and then we need to talk about some important things."

"What are important things?" Skykit asked, trying to process her fast speech.

"Nothing for you to worry about, little one," Vixendust mewed. "Your mother and I are going to go talk outside for a moment, and then we'll be right back.

"Outside?" Skykit asked, her eyes widening. "Can I go too?"

"No, baby," Stormflame replied, nuzzling her daughter as she stood up. "But I'll be right back, so don't worry."

When the two cats had gone outside, Skykit stumbled across the mossy ground of the nursery, trying to follow them. "Don't go outside, Skykit!" Moonmist called to her. Skykit stopped, glanced back, and decided she would wait just inside the nursery.

"…so young," Stormflame was saying as Skykit pricked her ears and looked through the ivy vines that guarded the nursery from the outside.

"I know, Stormflame, but it makes sense," Vixendust replied. "Think about it. 'Bring the dawn of hope'; 'pool of sky'. You brought the pool of sky, which is Skykit. She's going to be our hope."

Stormflame sighed. "Does this even change anything?" she asked.

"Yes," Vixendust mewed quietly. "She is either going to become medicine cat, or she will have some other talent, which will be revealed in time. I want to start a special training with her as a medicine cat when she turns three moons old, so we can see if that's right for her."

Stormflame snorted. "Absolutely not. Skykit is my daughter, and I'm going to raise her as a normal kit. She shouldn't have to be involved in this ridiculous prophecy."

"We were going to exile you, Stormflame," Vixendust mewed softly. "Don't make us do that now."

Stormflame gasped. "Don't threaten me, Vixendust," she growled. She stalked back into the nursery. "Skykit!" she exclaimed when she saw the little kitten sitting at the entrance. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"What's a popecy, Mama?" Skykit asked with wide eyes. "What's esiled?"

"Nothing to worry about, baby," Stormflame replied, a worried look in her eyes.

Skykit shrugged. "Okay!" she mewed cheerfully. "Honeykit and Pinekit are outside, so can I go out now?"

Stormflame chuckled and picked her kit up by the scruff. "Maybe later," she purred, gently washing Skykit's kit fur with her tongue. "I think it's nap time."

"I'm not tired, though," Skykit murmured drowsily as she relaxed against her mother's side.

* * *

 **Aww, little Skykit! You are tired! Skykit's mispronunciations are on purpose, BTW! I hope you like her, because I think she's just the cutest thing ever and she's just a character!**

 **QOTC**

 **Should Skykit get along better with Pinekit or Honeykit?**

 **Remember, OCs and reviews appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Yay! I'm back. For people who want to submit OC's I still have space so go look on my profile to see what roles are available.**

 **Review replies**

 **latchkeyo (Yeah, Vixendust is pretty manipulative, I honestly don't like her personality that much, although she is fun to write!)**

 **LuminousVixen (So clearly Vixendust is unpopular 😂 Have you considered that maybe Skykit will want to be a medicine cat? 😉)**

 **Mistyflame of DarkClan (Thank you for your OC's!)**

 **I appreciate all reviews so much and I'm always up for constructive criticism :) Thanks so much for reviewing guys! It really means a lot to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Skykit fidgeted anxiously as Lilyclaw gazed at her, her face unreadable. "She's alright, I suppose," the senior warrior mewed to Stormflame. "But perhaps she'd be prettier if her father came from RiverClan."

Stormflame flinched. "Don't take your disappointment with me out on a two-moon old kit, Lilyclaw," she snapped.

"I'm almost three moons old!" Skykit protested, puffing her chest. This was the first time she'd been allowed outside the nursery, and she'd been really excited until her grandmother came to scrutinize her skeptically.

Lilyclaw sighed, shaking her head. "Your sister would never do anything like this, you know. You're prettier than her though, so it's really a shame. Why, if you'd chosen the right tom, your kit could be the most beautiful cat in all the clans."

"Go away!" Stormflame growled, digging her claws into the ground. "Leave my kit alone, and stop being mean to Russetdapple."

Skykit flinched away from the she-cat as Lilyclaw nuzzled her, her nose brushing Skykit's fur in an unpleasant way. "Mama, I don't like her," the kit whimpered, cuddling into her mother's side.

Lilyclaw scoffed. "She's weak. You baby her too much."

"That's because she is a baby," Stormflame replied firmly. "I care about my kit, although you would never understand that."

"You're right," Lilyclaw meowed. "I chose strength and beauty over love, and I'm the most respected warrior in the clan."

"I don't respect you," Stormflame shot back. "It took you almost three moons to visit your daughter's kit, and the best you can say is 'alright.'"

"Watch your tongue, Stormflame," Lilyclaw growled. "I might just be deputy sometime soon, and then you'll have to respect me."

"Rainstar would never make you deputy," Stormflame mewed. "He doesn't like you because you chose 'strength and beauty' over him," she sneered.

Lilyclaw chuckled a dry, humorless laugh. "Your father is far more handsome than Rainstar. It was an easy choice. Besides, if Rainstar has any sense at all, he'll understand that I would be good for the clan."

"Kestrelsky doesn't care about you, or Russetdapple and I," Stormflame replied. "He agreed to be your mate because you were the popular she-cat, and you're separated now, so shut up about it."

"Mama, why are you arguing?" Skykit mewled unhappily. Lilyclaw's white fur bristled with anger, and Stormflame was tense. Skykit hid behind her mother, staring at the senior warrior with wide, scared eyes.

"Lilyclaw, go," the ginger she-cat meowed. "You're scaring Skykit."

"Fine, fine," Lilyclaw meowed as she spun around to trot away. "I might just put in a word to Rainstar about who her mentor should be, you know."

"Come, Skykit, it's nap time," Stormflame murmured once Lilyclaw was gone.

Skykit shook her head. "But Mama, I'm not tired! I don't want to go back inside already!"

"Stormflame! Skykit! You've finally come outside!" a cheerful voice called and a pale golden she-cat bounded over.

"Vixendust," Stormflame greeted curtly.

Vixendust pretended not to hear Stormflame's irritable tone and spoke again. "I can't believe it's taken you three moons to bring your kit outside, Stormflame! Don't you think it's better for her to be out in the fresh air?"

Stormflame bristled slightly. "I think there are cats in this clan that have proven it best for me to wait until Skykit was a little older to come outside."

Vixendust shrugged. "That didn't have to be a problem. You chose who you chose and if it reflects on Skykit, so be it." She angled her head down to look at Skykit. "Well, Skykit, I've been thinking," she meowed, "and I believe you would enjoy hanging out with me in the medicine den sometimes. It would be like you were my apprentice, except you'd still have to stay in camp."

Skykit wrinkled her little nose. "I want to be a warrior!" she exclaimed. "Medicine cats don't get to do anything fun!"

"I think you'll find it's actually quite fun," Vixendust replied. She shot Stormflame a look through narrowed eyes and the ginger she-cat flinched slightly.

"Y-yes," she stammered. "Skykit, I think that would be a great experience for you. Perhaps you could just try it for a little while."

"But I don't want to!" Skykit protested. "I'm going to learn to fish and fight like Honeypaw and Pinepaw and all the other apprentices!"

"Just try it, Skykit," Stormflame begged, seeming a little desperate. Skykit blinked curiously at her. Clearly, she didn't want to let her daughter go with Vixendust, so why was she?

"Fine!" the fluffy kit snapped in her high pitched meow. "But I'm not going to like it!"

Vixendust seemed extremely pleased. "Wonderful," she purred. "Come, Skykit." Skykit let her mother lick her head one more time and then padded after Vixendust, casting sad glances over her shoulder at Stormflame.

Vixendust's den smelled strongly of herbs, and it made Skykit nauseated. "It's gross in here," she mumbled, trying not to breathe in the smell.

"You'll get used to it!" Vixendust replied. "Now, let's start with learning the herbs." She walked over to a row of herbs sitting at the back of the den and beckoned Skykit to follow. "I collected these this morning, and I still need to put them in my herb store. Maybe you can help me with that."

"They all look the same," Skykit mewed irritably, sitting down beside the medicine cat.

"They're all very different. This is borage," Vixendust meowed, pawing a pile of dark green leaves. "We usually find it near the lake and it's used for nursing queens or cats with fevers." She moved on to the next plant, a tangy smelling bunch of leaves. "This is dock which we use to soothe scratches and sore pads."

Skykit sighed and wrapped her tail around her paws. She was insanely bored already and judging by the amount of leaves in front of her, she would be for a while. Vixendust continued to speak, going over at least a dozen other herbs, although Skykit did not retain most of the knowledge.

"Are we done yet?" the kit murmured after a while, her eyelids beginning to droop.

Vixendust nodded. "Almost," she meowed. "I have an exercise for you to try and then you can go back to the nursery."

"Okay," Skykit yawned.

"Take one pile of leaves at a time to the herb store and see if you can match them with others of the same type," the medicine cat explained. "I'll help you. Start with goldenrod."

Skykit shook her head and blinked, trying to concentrate. "Um, which one is that?" she asked.

The pale golden she-cat sighed. "It's the one with the yellow flowers, Skykit," she reminded her.

"Oh. Yeah." Skykit picked up the bundle in her jaws and followed Vixendust past the ivy curtain which concealed the herb store. There were at least three piles of yellow flowers, so Skykit just walked to the nearest one and placed her pile onto it, hoping she was right.

Vixendust sighed again. "No, Skykit, that's marigold. The flowers look different." She picked up Skykit's pile and moved it to the correct place, before dropping another pile in front of the kit. "Try this one," she suggested.

"Okay," Skykit said, sniffing the leaves. She dropped them on a pile that looked and smelled similar, both with a tangy scent.

"Well done!" Vixendust purred, looking pleased. "Can you tell me what that one is?"

"Um. Borage?" she guessed, trying to think of what the medicine cat had talked about.

"It's dock," Vixendust replied, seeming to deflate. "But nice try. You can go back to the nursery now, Skykit."

"Okay," she mumbled. "Goodnight, Vixendust."

"Good night," Vixendust meowed. "I'll hope to see you again tomorrow."

The pale gray kitten wandered across the almost dark clearing, looking for the nursery, her eyelids drooping more and more. She felt like she was walking in circles, so tired that she couldn't figure out where to go. She began to grow worried after she passed by the fish pile for the third time. "Mama?" she whimpered, wobbling on her paws.

"Skykit!" a familiar voice exclaimed. Skykit turned around and saw her mother running toward her, looking panicked.

"Mama!" Skykit cried, running to the ginger she-cat. Stormflame nuzzled her daughter gently before grasping her by the scruff and carrying her back to the nursery.

"I can't believe she just sent you out into the clearing," Stormflame grumbled. "Vixendust isn't very smart, for a medicine cat. Her head is filled with herbs and StarClan, and that's just about all she can think of."

"I'm tired, Mama," Skykit mumbled, curling up against the she-cat's warm fur. "Can you tell me a story?"

Stormflame laughed. "If you're tired, you should go to sleep," she purred, licking her daughter's fur clean.

"No, Mama, tell me a story," Skykit repeated.

"Alright," Stormflame said in a gentle, motherly voice. "Once upon a time there were two cats, Stormdapple and Ashheart, from different clans."

"Like you! Storm!" Skykit interrupted sleepily.

"That's right. Similar, but not me. Now let me keep going. Stormdapple and Ashheart were very much in love and so they met secretly at night, even though it wasn't allowed. After a few moons, Stormdapple's clan discovered that she was breaking the warrior code, and the leader tried to send her away from her home. But the clan's medicine cat begged him to let her stay and said she was part of an important prophecy, so she didn't have to leave." By this time, Skykit was fast asleep, although Stormflame continued the story. "Time passed, and Stormdapple gave birth to a kit. Ashheart's kit. A kit named Skykit. You. The kit in the prophecy." Stormflame purred softly, licked her sleeping daughter's ear, and let her head drop down onto her nest, falling asleep.

* * *

 **Did you like the story? Just to make sure there's no confusion, Skykit was asleep by the time Stormflame said that Skykit was in the prophecy, so she doesn't know!**

 **QOTC**

 **Do you get all week off for Thanksgiving break or do you have some school?**

 **My answer:**

 **I have school Monday and Tuesday :(**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading and if you review thankyou for that as well!**


	4. An (temporary)

Hi! its been literally forever since my last update and I'm sure most people have given up on me but i intend to be back now so hopefully I'll update in the next few days!


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